about Us

Our History

Pony Lee saw the lack of women and trans identities in leather spaces and Vanessa Craig knew how to bring a party. Both were regulars of SHOTGUN – the 5-year weekly party predecessor – led by local dykes. The two came up with Cruise LA to blend those ideas.

The first Cruise LA was September 2016. Since then Cruise has had a revolving cast of queer LA representation dedicated to community building and connection through leather.

Our Values

Cruise LA exists because of the people who show up—on the floor, behind the bar, in the booth, on the team, and in the crowd. Our community is the heart of this space.

We offer the following values as a shared foundation for how we move together:

Agency, Consent, & Boundaries

We honor each person’s agency. Consent is ongoing, nuanced, and required. We ask each person to stay attuned to their own capacity and to take responsibility for noticing and communicating when they are approaching overwhelm or a limit—even after a “yes” has been given. Boundaries are to be respected—no questions asked. We encourage everyone to stay in an embodied relationship with their own limits and to respect the limits of others.

Collaboration

Cruise LA is built collectively. We value connection, co-creation, and mutual support. We actively seek to uplift and collaborate with community members, artists, and organizations who share our values.

Liberation & Accountability

We are committed to building spaces that move away from shame, punishment, and exclusion as default responses to harm. When conflict arises, we aim to practice accountability, communication, and repair in ways that support collective care and growth.

Curiosity

We invite curiosity over assumption. This includes openness to learning, unlearning, and engaging across difference. Curiosity helps us stay connected—to ourselves, to each other, and to the moment.

Cruise LA is a living, evolving space. These values are not fixed—they grow with us, and we ask our community to help shape them in practice.

We welcome generative feedback. You can share it with us at: cruiselosangeles@gmail.com

Our Mission Statement

Cruise LA facilitates intersectional leather/kink spaces by centering historically disenfranchised communities in arts-based programming and cultural events.

Using fun and joy, Cruise LA connects its patrons with resources for harm reduction, safer play, education, and community building.

Through the lens of radical self-acceptance and interdependence, Cruise LA creates a space that is not only courageous but celebratory of diversity.

Since 2016, Cruise LA has been producing the only monthly party at Eagle LA that exclusively centers women and TGI people.

In 2019, Cruise LA premiered the first Mx. leather title in Los Angeles and continues to carve out space for marginalized communities in Leather.

By recognizing those who came before us and fought to create the foundations of our community, we honor their legacy by continuing to create art, events, and spaces that champion systemically excluded bodies.

Our Team

Pony Lee Founder + Co-Producer

Elliot Co-Producer

Rogelio Co-Producer

Margaret Co-Producer

OUR TITLEHOLDERS

CruiseLA is for EVERYONE. We center QTBIPOC folks and sex workers in our programming and hiring practices. Everyone is welcome, regardless of identity.
No. Cruise is for EVERYONE. We are not a sapphic-only organization.
Certainly plenty of sapphic folks find their homes here, and we love them as we do all our attendees, but this is not a sapphic party. We want all the queer folks, all the trans folks, and above all, all the freaks!
Show up!
Cruise can seem intimidating, being a leather party, but our monthly event at the Eagle LA is very laid-back. It’s not a play party, and though we do love and encourage it when people play there, most people just hang out and catch up with their friends.
The person working the door can tell you about what’s going on at the event, and could even introduce you to groups of folks to talk to. And although leatherfolk can look scary, we are usually pretty nice. Just say hi!
NO, the monthly Cruise LA Day Party at the Eagle is free to attend. We have a suggested $5 donation at the door, which helps keep our event sustainable (paying the DJ and Gogos, and to pay for other demos, education, programming, etc…) but it is NOT required! We want you there regardless!
(Also, the $5 donation at the door is tax deductible!)
Some of our other events, such as play parties, have tickets. We do our best to make the general admission prices accessible, and also always have cheaper pre-sale, sliding-scale, and FREE community-sponsored tickets available, so that no one need be kept from our events due to finances.
The best way to learn about our events is to subscribe to our mailing list. You can also check out our Events page to see what’s coming up next.
We do not have a set schedule or venue for play parties. We host them when and where we have the capacity to do so, which allows us to be thoughtful about the experience we create.
Once or twice a year, if we have a market-type event upcoming, or are looking for vendors, we will open our vendor application for that event. Sign up for our email list, or follow us on instagram to be notified when that opens up.
Our vendor application is currently open, apply here.
UPDATE 1/28/2025: We are not currently accepting applications for outside programming at our events. This is a volunteer-run organization and we simply do not have enough hands to make this happen at the moment.
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We have an application you can fill out HERE, and the CruiseLA team will decide if and where your programming fits into our upcoming events, and will get back to you when we have an answer for you. This is a volunteer-run organization, so do not expect a speedy response.
In 2025, CruiseLA joined forces with a 501(C)(3) Non-Profit, The TG/ENBY Project.
What does this mean for you?
- Any donations you make to CruiseLA are tax-deductible.
- You still do NOT have to pay to attend Cruise LA, the suggested $5 donation at the door is 100% optional. PLEASE show up and know that there is no pressure to pay at the door.
- It changes nothing about the way we operate and the typical events we put on, but may lead to more events in collaboration with their programming, like group hikes!
What does this mean for Cruise LA?
- The ability to receive grants and tax-deductible donations.
- New collaborative events with TG/ENBY, to have additional wellness and queer- and trans-joy related programming.
- Partnering with a 501c3 means that we are investing in our long-term future. And we can all be custodians in keeping this community alive and thriving for another 10 years, and beyond!
- Cruise LA is committed to growing its programming with your support through volunteering, donations or bringing a friend.
TG/ENBY Project is a TGI led wellness initiative seeking to create and build a more holistic, trauma informed community.
It is run by members of our own CruiseLA community! You have probably already met them as greeters and volunteers for our events, performers on our stage, and mingling as part of our Cruise community!
Read more on their website: https://www.tgenby.com/
Go to https://www.tgenby.com/donate to make a one-time or recurring donation to support our joint missions of queer and trans job and wellness! In the comments, please write “Cruise LA” to make sure we designate it appropriately.
Please email us at cruiselosangeles@gmail.com